Local snow [A Bug's Life]

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When are they going to grit my road? Why haven't they gritted the pavements?

Cambridgeshire County Council is responsible for gritting and salting roads in the county, and have a web page describing their policy and actions.

Priority is given to maintaining safe driving conditions on an agreed network of roads (map here)

and Pavements in town and village centres are normally only salted if the icy conditions persist for several days.

So now you know.

I think, in the US, it is the responsibility (or perhaps just the tradition) for people to clear snow from the sidewalk in front of their homes. We don't seem to do it here. (Goes and sprinkles salt on the pavement)

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There are 25 comments on this entry. (Reply.)

I need to get a snow-capable shovel, really.

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And I need to get the habit of sweeping/shovelling immediately, not waiting till people have spent a day treading it down.

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I clear my bloody pavement. My neighbour and I are the only people who do.

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And it makes such a difference! I'm embarrassed for not starting on mine earlier.

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We used to, here in Blighty, but (possible pinch of salt territory, err, as it were) in these "enlightened" days if you try to clear your pavement and somebody slips and falls on it they are likely to set ambulance chasers on you - whereas if you don't, they can't.

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Oh dear, I shall have to put out a little hazard warning sign, taking no responsibility for people and exhorting them to check for black ice before they put their best foot forwards.

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It's not just in these enlightened days: back in the 70s in Edinburgh people were warned about clearing pavements in front of their houses: it seems that the cold weather we had wasn't quite cold enough and the scrapings would do the slow flow/regelation thing and become far slippier than snow-with-footprints-in, so more "if you don't, they won't", really.

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It varies in the USA, too. In the city of Chicago, you can never sue the property owner for a fall on their snowy walk. It doesn't matter if they've shoveled or not. In Chicago, the landlords rule.

In the city of Madison, Wisconsin (where I live now), if you don't clear your walk within a reasonable time, you can get a ticket (small fine).

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Last year the University gritted the pavements by the flats (it's private land). So far this year they haven't. The pavements outside the flat are an ice rink. I am not looking forward to trying to lug furniture and boxes across them next week.

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You could treat the box-moving like a giant game of curling?

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If it were someone else's possessions in the boxes I might feel happier..

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Do you have any shops that carry YakTrax? They're rubber-and-springs traction devices that fit over your shoes/boots, and they work wonderfully on icy walks and packed snow. Another brand, Stabilicers, uses cleats instead.

There's also something to be said for moving one's legs as if you're cross-country skiing. At least your weight will be a bit forward, so you're less likely to fall on your bum.

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I've never heard of either. Thanks for the tip. I'm afraid it's come too late for the house move (which is today), but I shall keep an eye out for such things in future.

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I went out earlier and the pavements were sheet ice and treacherous.

Even the paths across the common that I take with Cray were icy - I ended up crunching over the remains of snow on the grass, avoiding the paths for a change.

I only slipped once.

Ow.

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It was a bylaw in Colorado, and most people obeyed it. With shovels, not salt, as the latter is frowned upon as it gets in the watercourses.

Mind you, after the solstice blizzard of '06, the ice lasted 3 months...

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I was wondering on Friday if Addenbrookes A&E department got any patients who had intended to visit a different hospital department entirely (The pavement and walkways outside Outpatients were ungritted, and rather slippery even for those with good health and mobility).

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Addenbrookes was still ungritted at 6.30am on Sunday I when went to collect my wife from her night shift. All very slippery. Maybe the A&E department were after customers.

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By 09.00 Monday Addenbrooke's paths were well gritted.

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Dunno about the grit but I can hear them doing my Friday morning recycling collection right now.

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I haven't managed to fall over yet but have been leaving home extra early so I can walk sensibly slow.

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Unfortunately, you really have to get out there immediately with the shovel or you do more harm than good.

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I read something which suggested that if you don't salt/grit and someone falls on the ice outside your property, it's not your fault.

If you salt/grit and someone STILL falls, it's your fault for not doing it properly.

(This was anecdotal and related to a private property - think it was a shopping area.)

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Oh - I see Crazyscot has heard the same thing!

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Glad it's not just my imagination 8-)

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My neighbours are the sort of people who get up early on snowy mornings just so that they can shovel the snow off their path. I on the other hand am like the foolish virgin who goes out with a broom (as we have no shovel) just as it is getting dark...

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A Bug's Life

Local snow

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September